A Happy Ending, A New Beginning
by fangirlmum4ever
Summary: Set after 3x06. The group is back in Storybrook, and the town is throwing a ball to celebrate. Emma has made her decision, and is going public. Total #CaptainSwan fluff. Regrettably, I own none of the fabulous characters or stories from OUAT.


Emma stared at the image in the full length mirror, barely recognizing herself in a real-life, honest-to-goodness fully blown princess gown. It was barely a week since everyone had arrived back from Neverland with Henry in tow, but apparently one week was just enough time for Granny and Ruby to plan, organize and throw a celebratory ball welcoming everyone home.

Now, as she prepared to leave for the ball, she found her thoughts drifting back to the events in Neverland, as they had often been doing over the past several days. Her features unconsciously softened as she recalled Hook's "confession" in Echo Cave, remembering the shock of feeling her heart lift as she realized what he was saying. Then just as quickly, the plunging feeling when she heard Neal's voice call out her name, of knowing that he was indeed alive. She remembered that she briefly cast one last stricken glance at the pirate before turning to walk over the bridge to free the person she once had thought to be the love of her life. She had so badly wanted to say something – anything – to him in that moment, but first she needed to deal with her past.

In the time between hearing Hook's "dark secret" and his declaration of his intention to fight for her love, she had felt a spark grow in her heart that she had never before experienced. But perhaps the most definitive moment for her was right after she used magic to light the lantern that captured Pan – a magic fueled only by her sudden realization that she, Emma Swan, would die if anything happened to Hook. In that instant, Emma knew that she was in love with the pirate, and she knew that she could never be with Neal again – her choice had been made. Her first and foremost concern, however, was Henry so she had put her own feelings aside to be dealt with later. Now that they were back in Storybrooke, she was scared, but she was ready to move forward.

Emma shook her head, bringing herself out of her private musings. She glanced at the clock and realized that she had been lost in thought for quite a while longer than what she should have been. She was late! Now, she was a little regretful of encouraging David and Mary Margaret to go on ahead of her. She had assured them that she would be "right behind them" in a separate cab. They had rented a limo for the occasion, and balked when Emma had first suggested she just drive herself over in her little bug, so the taxi was a fair compromise. She was still glad, however, that she had adamantly refused Neal's repeated suggestion that he come over to escort her to the ball. He was irritated that he had not been invited to stay at Emma's place since they got back to Storybrooke, but slowly he was beginning to accept that Emma was indeed planning on moving on, and that her plans did not necessarily include him in her personal future. Neal had settled for picking up their son from Regina's house where the boy had been for the school week.

There had been a moment in Neverland when Emma was sure that there was something (or perhaps there HAD been at one time), between Neal and Tinkerbell, of all people, but since arriving back in Storybrooke, Neal seemed to only have one thing on his mind; harassing Emma about "being a family" for Henry. The funny thing was, it didn't even seem like Neal was all that interested in her personally; it was almost as if the only reason he wanted her back in his life, was to keep her away from Hook. Once again finding her thoughts flitting back to the handsome Captain of the Jolly Roger, Emma smiled ruefully at herself as she stepped out onto the sidewalk to look for her cab. As she stood there looking down an oddly quiet street, she heard a strange sound coming from around the corner. What was that? Was that a …. Horse?  
"REALLY?" she muttered. Sure enough, a carriage drawn by 4 white horses rounded the corner, one that looked suspiciously like the pumpkin-turned-into-a-coach from the classic pictures of Cinderella stories. The carriage stopped directly in front of her, and one of the seven dwarves –dressed up in a top hat and tails – laughed down at her.

"Hop in, Princess! I have strict instructions to get you right to the ball!"  
"You've got to be kidding me. WHO set you up to this?" Emma gruffly asked, hiding a smile as she climbed in. She was fairly certain it was the work of a certain pixie-haired former school teacher. His answer didn't surprise her. "I can't tell you that, Emma. You'll find out soon enough. Let's GO!" he flicked the reins at the horses to start them on their way.

Emma settled back in and smoothed the fabric of her satin ball gown. It was a brilliant emerald green, almost matching the exact shade of her eyes, or so Mary Margaret had insisted. It was a beautiful cut; strapless and beaded with a shimmering band of what looked like fairy dust just across the top edging, fitted snugly in at the waist to flair out in an impossibly full skirt with the same decorative sparkle accenting the waist and layers of the dress. She had to admit, it WAS beautiful, and further to that, she found to her surprise that she actually enjoyed dressing up for once. Not that she was ready to admit that to anyone else.

Soon enough, the carriage pulled up to the steps of the barely recognizable community hall where the ball was underway. "Wow," Emma commented to her driver as he helped her out of the carriage, "Granny and Ruby went all out, I see."  
"Well, they did have a LITTLE help," he grinned. We dwarves, Belle, and one or two others may have had a hand, or two, in getting this ready."  
"Not without a bit of magic, too, I suppose," Emma smiled. She turned to go up the steps, gingerly lifting her gown so she wouldn't step on it and go flying. "Because that would be really attractive," she muttered under her breath.  
"Wait! You forgot something!" she turned back as her driver ran up the stairs with something in his hand.  
"I didn't bring anything with me," Emma frowned.

"No, but I'm supposed to give you this before you go into the ball." He extended the small white box toward her. "You might want to open this up here," he grinned. "It's from the person who ordered the carriage for you."

"Oh. Okay," Emma smiled. Trust Mary Margaret to think of everything. She opened the box to find a beautiful wrist corsage made of a simple white lily surrounded by the most beautiful tiny white and green flowers that Emma had ever seen. As she slipped it onto her wrist, she felt something hard. Was that a piece of plastic? She lifted the petal of the flower that was hiding whatever it was that had brushed against her skin. Her eyes widened in shock and she gave a slight gasp as she saw what it was – a miniature, purple heart with a skull and crossbones imprinted on it; obviously meant to represent a certain pirate. She remembered seeing it on a little display in Gold's shop, thinking then that it was an odd piece for him to have, considering his feelings about pirates in general.

"Anything wrong, Emma?" The concerned dwarf questioned. Emma's hand briefly closed over the tiny object as she sputtered "No, no. Nothing's wrong. Just want to get going in, is all." She flashed him a quick smile. She wondered what the implication of this little "extra" was. It certainly wasn't an original part of the flower, but it was most definitely placed there by someone who wanted to make a statement. She suddenly felt giddy; was this her mother's way of giving a "stamp of approval?"

Emma didn't have time to give it anymore thought, for at that moment, the double doors to the hall were dramatically opened to give her entrance. She took a shaky breath, suddenly realizing that all eyes were now on her as she stood poised at the top of the stairs. She was greatly relieved that there hadn't been a break in the music to officially announce her; that would have been a little over the top, as far as she was concerned. It was bad enough that apparently the entire town of Storybrooke was gathered in this one room. Emma couldn't believe how self-conscious she felt. Many smiling faces turned to greet her, but there was only one that she was intent on seeing, one that seemed to be eluding her at that moment.

Emma descended the stairs to the main level when she spotted her parents talking with Henry. A little relieved that she had found an excuse to move to the edge of the crowd, she made her way over to them to say hello, offer an apology for being late, and perhaps to find out where Hook was. She knew he had been invited; she had made sure that Henry had personally delivered the invitation to the pirate, and gotten his assurance of attending.

"Emma, you look so beautiful in that dress! I knew the color would complement you perfectly," Mary Margaret exclaimed.

"Thanks to you," Emma acknowledged. "I don't know how you guys managed to pull all this off in such a short period of time. The dress fits perfectly, the corsage is incredible, and the horse drawn carriage… that was pretty impressive, Mom, thank you."

"Horse drawn carriage?" David asked, surprised. "I thought you were taking a taxi here."

"Well that was the plan; wait a minute, I thought you guys had ordered it…" Emma looked confused.

"Um… David, sweetheart, can I talk to you for a moment?" Mary Margaret grabbed his arm to pull him away. She turned to a bewildered Emma and smiled. "You're welcome for the dress, but the corsage and the carriage… you need to save your thanks for someone else." Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise, exactly matching the look on David's face.

"Snow… is there something you're forgetting to tell me?" He questioned his wife.  
"Well, honey, why don't you come with me for a moment, and we'll leave our daughter to give a proper thank you to the person who really planned this," Mary Margaret laughed, pulling her husband away from a shocked Emma.

"Wait! Mary Margaret…." Emma sputtered. The dark haired woman leaned in to whisper, "Just turn around," and with that, she grinned at her daughter and pulled away, leaving Emma feeling suddenly breathless, and very aware that she was being set up.

Slowly, she turned to search the crowd for a tall leather clad figure who would stand out pretty much anywhere. It only took a moment before she found him. He had been standing off to the side of the large hall, lounging against a post with one leg crossed in front of the other, seemingly waiting. Their eyes met and even from across the room she could see the flash of desire light up his gaze.

She suddenly understood why she hadn't been able to spot him before; while he still sported his trademark scruff, he was dressed not in his usual black leather pirate garb, but in a regal coat of royal blue befitting a captain of the king's guard, with well fitted cream colored trousers disappearing into impossibly shiny black boots. In a word, he was stunning.

As she watched, he straightened and began walking toward her, his cerulean eyes never leaving her face. When he reached her, he took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips for a lingering kiss. Emma's breath caught in her throat; he continued to hold her hand captive as he stepped nearer. She noted that in place of his hook he wore a soft black leather glove, and it was with this arm that he drew her closer so there was almost no room between them at all. He gazed down at her, his eyes darkened with emotion as he murmured huskily, "Emma, you…. Look…. Beautiful. Even more than I could have possibly imagined…" he broke off, at a loss for words, for once.

"Thank you," she breathed. "You, you look...wonderful. Different, but good. Still really good." Emma blushed and looked down, suddenly not knowing what to do or say next.  
"How did you enjoy the carriage ride? That was your first, I take it?" A sudden mischievous glint appeared in his eye. "You never forget your first," he grinned at her.  
She laughed, remembering the first time he said that to her, one of the many, many innuendoes that she had come to enjoy from him. "And I see you've put your personal stamp on my corsage," Emma teased affectionately. "Nice touch, pirate."  
"Well, Rumplestiltskin thought you might have some appreciation for it, so he gave it to Henry, and Henry brought it to me. It was your mother's idea, actually".

"Wow," Emma chuckled. "So apparently I have the "go ahead" from everyone."

Hook leaned in to whisper in her ear, "even your father, love, take a look." Emma turned slightly in time to see the Prince give a "thumbs up" sign to the man who held her in his arms, smiling at them both as Snow White lovingly wrapped her arms around her husband.  
Hook smiled. Emma had done that for him. She knew he was a man of honor, a man worthy of love and a man worth loving. It was because of her that he was beginning to feel the acceptance of her family and friends.

For Emma, time stood still and the world around them disappeared. She knew without a doubt that this man standing before her, the man who had given up so much for her, risked his life repeatedly for HER, who had never ceased to be right there for her when she needed him, would never abandon her, and would always love her. She smiled up at him, that smile that seemed only to be reserved for him, eyes glistening. They began to move languidly to the music, just revelling in being able to hold each other, to declare their love in the presence of the entire town. There would be no question now as to whom Emma had chosen.


End file.
